The roots self prune or just stop growing at the top of the res. Why? I don't know. But they do not grow down into the res. I'm guessing that the Air Gap between the soil & the water causes it. The perforated platform for instance is 6" high. The drain hole in your bucket is 4" high. So you can only add 4" of water / feed. That creates a 2" Air Gap between the Soil & the water.
Don't overthink it. Get started with one of the tried and true simple designs. If an air stone were needed we would have found that by now. Seriously, trust the process. Run a basic version that many have had great success with first and then experiment to your heart's content.
maybe because there's no top drip.. if water was dripping over the top and back into the reservoir the roots can use that to skip any airgap and grow into the nutrients.. that's how I ended up with this
That's what we are working on now. Specifically what is the best way to start a SIP. There seems to be a 2-3 week lag time for the plant to transition enough to benefit from the moister environment.
I think that's right. The question is, if pressed for time and growing from seed, is it better to start right off in the final container or spend some development time in a smaller pot first.
Personally, I leave the res empty until they get a good three nodes on 'em. Then I fill the res. One of my plants (Kooshie) had one seried of leaves that got "Crepey" (wrinkled) which seems to be a symptom of over water? Rapidly cleared up, tho.Hey everyone… here’s my addition to the SIP club. She just broke soil this morning. I followed @Buds Buddy process of watering roughly 1 gallon the day before and then planting. She’s a White Widow Auto. Let’s see if I can keep from killing her! I have not filled the reservoir yet but there’s a lot of damp soil still from first watering. 2 questions: when should I fill the reservoir up? And when it’s time to fill it, should I fill it all the way or just half way? Thanks for the help!
Curioser and curiouser!Oddly enough, even just sitting in a deep (ish) pan of water can give SIP results. To recap, had a 5 gal rig, standard config, drain holes bored in the bottom, layer of gravel, fill w/ soil. add plant. After one plant died, I repotted her using the soil from dead plant's bucket to give this one more root space... (and had issues - see link "What a disaster!") At any rate, few weeks after THAT, decided to try a hybrid SIP conversion - basically, just bored "Breathing Holes" around the pot about 3 - 4 in up (the same 3/16 or what ever size bit I'm using for all the small holes) plopped it in a deep pan, filled it up. She took OFF. Today, after 4th week of bloom she's drinking 3 - 4 L / day (turns out she has help, cat likes her water better than his...) is roughly 4x4 and freaking COVERED with colas up to 9"...
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More training for Goldie
- Pete Detroit
- Sep 15, 2022
- gold leaf
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Goldie, Exploding
- Pete Detroit
- Sep 18, 2022
- #gold leaf
In just 3 days, noticably taller, fuller...
And today, 5 weeks from flip, 4 weeks into bloom...
Agreed. Talk about stupid EASY / Effective. Every welcome, kind of the point of this thread, discuss different methods / equipment, and results! and the 'air holes' are prolly 3 in apart, all the way around
I usually start my seeds in a 1 gal. pot. Once in a while I start them in the final pot; like I'm trying this time. I wanted to see how it works out first hand in SIP's & if I should skip the 1 gal. pot from now on.
Now we know why it says to "Never Top Water". Also explains why I get a few roots that grow down the side by the res Air Hole opening. Nowhere else. Just there. Worried it could clog the drain hole.maybe because there's no top drip.. if water was dripping over the top and back into the reservoir the roots can use that to skip any airgap and grow into the nutrients.. that's how I ended up with this
Hey Azimuth,
